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What I’m hearing about Baker Mayfield and the Browns – Terry Pluto


Updated: May. 01, 2022, 7:02 a.m. | Published: May. 01, 2022, 5:56 a.m.
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By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
BEREA, Ohio – They didn’t come close to a deal.

That’s what I heard from a high-placed NFL source about the Browns’ trade talks with Carolina concerning QB Baker Mayfield that collapsed Friday.

The Browns are in a tough spot. The entire NFL knows they want to dump Mayfield after trading for Deshaun Watson. While Browns owner Jimmy Haslam denies it, many NFL owners are outraged over the fully guaranteed $230 million deal he gave to Watson.

Consider what Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said at the NFL Owners Meetings: “I wish they hadn’t guaranteed the whole contract. I don’t know that he should’ve been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract. To me, that’s something that is groundbreaking, and it’ll make negotiations harder with others.”

Bisciotti is upset because his QB Lamar Jackson is heading into the final season on his contract. Jackson can and should use the Watson contract as a starting point for his negotiations – and ask for more.

Watson sat out last season as he continues to deal with the 22 civil cases from women hanging over him. He is a 3-time Pro Bowler, but never went to the Super Bowl. How did this guy end up with a record-setting deal? At least, that’s the opinion of many in the NFL.

Not only does the deal include $80 million more guaranteed than anyone else in NFL history, it averages $46 million a year. That’s slightly higher than the $45 million annual salary for Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes. The only QB with a higher average salary is Aaron Rodgers at $50 million.

You can imagine agents for other big time QBs using Watson to demand new contracts for their clients. Not a single NFL owner will say what the Browns did was smart for the NFL – which has consistently found ways to avoid the fully guaranteed contracts found in other sports.

Remember, it’s not about saving billionaires money. It’s about managing your salary cap.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MAYFIELD?

NFL owners are a club. They sometimes do favors for each other in deals. Other times, they make it hard for teams/owners they don’t like.

As the Browns talked to Carolina, the big issue was Mayfield’s $18.9 million salary. The Panthers have room on their salary cap to take him. They have a need for a QB, as Sam Darnold is their current starter. Picked in the same 2018 draft as Mayfield, Darnold started 11 games in 2021. The Panthers were 4-7. He threw 9 TD passes compared to 13 interceptions. He has been a mess for most of his NFL career.

Mayfield should be a significant upgrade. The Browns are willing to pay some of his salary. But Carolina wanted much of it paid. There was talk about draft choices being traded, but the Panthers believe the Browns have nearly zero leverage.

Carolina cut off negotiations and took Mississippi QB Matt Corral in the third round. Word out of Carolina is the talks are dead. Of course, they can be revived. But that seems unlikely, at least as of now.


THEN BAKER TALKED

Mayfield wants out of Cleveland. He hurt his own cause with an interview with the YNK podcast hosted by “Mike.” The headline from it was how Mayfield felt “disrespected” when the Browns pursued Watson and didn’t tell him first.

But he said some other things that won’t be pleasing to future employers.

“It’s a huge battle within the locker room in my position being a quarterback,” he said. “Some of these guys don’t play the game because they love it. They’re playing it to get a retirement fund. They’re making tons of a million dollars and they don’t care about winning.”

Perhaps Mayfield is right about that, but is this the time to call out your teammates? Remember, he’s still with the Browns. Also, name names if you want be a standup guy. Don’t talk about it on a podcast with a rapper named Mike.

“How can I get the best out of people that are making a ton of money?” said Mayfield. “I could always motivate people when we weren’t making money. ... You get a pension after four years, how do you motivate people that are already at that point?”

Hey, Baker, that’s part of your job as an NFL QB.

If you’re running the Panthers or another team, what do you make of those remarks? Mayfield’s advisors should have told him not to say a word – at least until afterl he’s traded. Maybe they did, and perhaps he didn’t listen. Either way, bad move.

Mayfield has come across as immature before, and this is more fuel to that negative fire.

NOW WHAT?

I hear their plan is to wait, perhaps a team will lose a QB to injury in training camp. They don’t plan to release Mayfield and let him pick his own team. Nor should they do that. Even if they have to pay most of his salary, it’s best to wait for some type of deal to emerge.

It’s hard to believe Seattle fails to see Mayfield as a better bet at QB than Drew Lock or Geno Smith.

But for now, the Browns are nowhere with Mayfield. He sits, a quarterback without a team. It may take quite a while for that to change.

I do love how you preach not to write combative and character attacking posts.

If Haslam must pay Baker's salary regardless, why does he have to make it easier for another team?

This is simply my opinion, but I really don't buy the "Browns have nearly zero leverage" angle. What leverage did the Texans have after Watson stated he would never play for them again, did not play an entire year and had 22 Civil cases forthcoming? What leverage did the Jags have when Ramsey said he did not want to play for them again? What leverage did Philly have after Wentz said he wanted out? Hell, what leverage did Indy have last year after they admitted they wanted to move on from Wentz?

I think this is more about how teams view Baker as a player and especially as to what he will bring to your locker room. The guy has trashed coaches, teammates, and other players that he didn't even really know. Also, in addition to the comments Pluto mentioned, Baker used all the changes in head coaches and OC's as an excuse. He was the one who kept talking about his injuries and the Brown's stance was that he was healthy enough to play. Too much baggage in relation to good play on the field. The repeated comments coming from ex-players about "no player does less w/more" about Baker ring true.

I think there is a difference between a fan expressing opinions and a player expressing them. I'm not trying to get a job w/a team in the NFL.

Colin Kaepernick, Maurice Clarrett just ask em!
Browns ownership changed the game in future qb negotiations by guaranteeing 100% of a 230 million dollar contract.
Baker didn't do that.
Once the Browns waive Baker he will be accepted, but they're paying the Browns back, not Baker.

This response conviently ^^ had to be watered down TWICE to make it past the KGB overseers who...

It looks like that is Baker's shot at starting this year. Some team that expects to be in the playoffs this year loses their starter and they have a weak back-up.

I was not that sure something would happen during the draft, and I unfortunately was right. Carolina was rumored to be getting him for a 4th, but then used a 4th and a 3rd to draft a QB. Seattle was another team that some thought was possible, but now they say that any interest in Baker was "lukewarm." For a team with Locke and Geno Smith in the QB room ... that's rough.

Moving him is in the best interest for both sides. Just need to find a team that wants him enough to do it.

Aren't you the same guy constantly complaining about personal attacks? Yeah, I thought so.

Remarkable, but not surprising. Isn't the above the type of posts you asked people not to make when engaging you-- or that others make for that matter? Further, that opinions are fine and just because one doesn't agree it doesn't cause for ridicule? Slowly but surely, I knew this would happen. You'd devolve back to the Vers we all remembered. Like everything in life, it all regresses to the mean. Essentially, you are back to the persona everyone knows you as.

Wonderful. There is so much to look forward to.

Serious question - and we can stick with Seattle as the perfect example as they have a weak QB room and Pete isn't getting any younger and probably doesn't want to rebuild. On paper from a Brown's perspective they are an ideal candidate to trade Baker to.

From Seattle's perspective - which is all important - do you think these factors would be important?

- Baker is still recovering - I don't even know what stage he is at.
- Who is your competition for signing Baker? What other teams are serious about possibly acquiring him?
- From the outside looking in, if I am Seattle I think the Browns simply have to move on from Baker or they will pay him to sit. He isn't going to be part of the team no matter what.
- It's May. Preseason camp starts August 1st. Seattle's July 28th.

If you are the GM of Seattle - what decision would you make? Do you think they will start the season with what they have in Locke and Geno and see if one gets injured? Do you think they are in a rush to trade for Baker given the situation? Or do you think they will wait till the last moment to be sure BM is healthy and the Browns are at their weakest position in regards trade demands? Even if Seattle know what draft capital they (potentially) value BM at, there is reason and leverage to wait this out because of the contract and the $$$ Browns might be willing to contribute to move Baker.

And I will say this again, even though I got criticized the 1st time.

I think Baker is going to have a choice to make:

Either get paid $18.9 million to sit home inactive all season or renegotiate his contract to facilitate a trade

Ah geez, Memphis. Why....?

Not a long list: Seattle, Detroit. Giants, and perhaps Carolina....

Fair question, and mind you, I am not a GM. So my perspective may not be realistic.

First, I am not concerned about Baker's recovery. Meaning, I have no doubts he will fully recover on schedule.

Second, if I feel I can get a QB that is a significant upgrade to what I currently have, then I do not screw around. I get him. There is no more important position on the field. If I truly think that Baker will be a significant improvement to what I have, and I decide to play a waiting game, and then I have some team lose a QB to injury and swoop in that afternoon and get Baker for a deal I would have been willing to pay ... then I screwed the pooch. I did not do my job.

I do get what you are saying. This is just my thought.

He has no incentive to do that other then to bail the Browns out of the situation they put themselves in.

And I understand why the Browns made the decisions they did. At the time they picked up Baker's option they had no idea they would have the opportunity to land a top 5 or 10 top QB in the NFL. So their best choice at the time was to pick up that fifth year option. You have to have some legitimate option at the starting QB position and at the time the only available option they had was Mayfield or trying to draft a rookie in a very weak draft class. You can't leave yourself open that way at the QB position. Thus picking up the option.

Then the watson sweepstakes began. If you're looking at it strictly from an on the field play perspective while leaving out the other variables, watson is a big upgrade. Signing him long term will give the Browns several years of having the opportunity of competing for a SB appearance. In the AFC there are so many great QB's you have to have a great QB to be able to say that. Once again they looked at the situation as the opportunity unfolded and became an option for them.

But during that process they made an obvious choice. They knew Baker was injured and could not pass an NFL physical. They knew every team in the league understood that you can't have watson and Mayfield both on the same sideline. Every team knew that in the end the Browns would have to eat a lot of his salary or be stuck with all of it which no team wants to do. Berry is not a stupid man. He was well aware of how this situation was going to play out. It was a huge gamble and he knew that paying Mayfierlds contract this year was a real possibility as the price of doing business when he made this deal. So in reality he knew that the total price tag for watson may very well end up being the 230 mil. he pad watson plus the 18.9 he could be forced to pay Mayfield. 248.9 mil.

I'll give you an example of how we benefited from a similar situation. The Cowboys had to unload salary cap. Everyone knew it. As a result the Browns acquired Amari Cooper for a fifth round draft pick.

Baker isn't going to, nor should he pay for the Browns actions. They knew what they were doing all along. Someone will end up trading for Baker. The Browns won't get much. Baker knows it and they know it.

A lot of people see everything in black and white. You're either a Baker apologist or you're a hater is the way some people approach this. Some deem logical facts on both sides as excuses or lies. That's not the way this actually works. As to why teams aren't frothing at trading for Mayfield is two fold imo. One is because of the situation the browns put themselves in as I explained above. The other is that while it's true that Mayfield looked good in the last half of 2020 and the first game of 2021, that's the only time anyone has seen him perform on a consistent basis. People point to the lack of continuity in coaches and systems which is true. But I don't think the NFL saw consistently over a long enough time frame that they're convinced that's the QB they would be getting on a consistent basis given it was only for nine or ten games.

His incentive is to get traded and have the opportunity to play rather than spend a complete season on the inactive list.
He might certainly decide to do that but good luck getting a decent contract the following year. Basically career suicide.
Especially with the talent coming out at Qb next draft.

We get no salary cap relief if we release him, so what incentive do we have for that?

What you say makes perfect sense. You could be entirely correct/right - and maybe the Seahawks think Locke/Geno are better than Baker?

There is a caveat - you are talking as if, should the Browns field an offer from another team, that the Seahawks automatically miss out. We are both also assuming that some sort of "if this, then that" agreement in principal hasn't been largely penciled in.

In either case - If the seahawks were serious about BM, but waited and Detroit or another team made a bid, then I feel pretty sure Seattle gets a call to alert them. Last comment - I think it was ThrowLong - someone mentioned the other teams being upset that the Haslams broke a new norm regards to the size of the guaranteed money and might be black balling them a little, no idea if that is true but I do think it is possible.

So you are suggesting we never get an offer to free up a portion of his salary this year? Because from my understanding the Panthers already did that just not enough to satisfy the Browns.

I think there is a very real possibility that we won't find acceptable compensation combined with accept salary aasumption

Baker's contract is guaranteed - that cannot be changed because of the CBA. Now the Browns could move money from the base salary of 18.9M to a prorated bonus but it doesn't matter because it's all guaranteed. An example would be let's say the Browns want to make the base salary 4M and spread out the balance of 14.9 over 3-years. Mayfield gets his 14.9M up front and whomever trades for him pays he 4M salary. The Browns take a dead cap hit of 4.96M each of the next 3 years. That's the issue, because it's all guaranteed by the CBA, there's no way to get around Mayfield getting the 18.9M, it just depends what bucket you want to put it in but the Browns are going to be paying unless they can unload the whole contract.

Now Mayfield could sign an extension with the new team and address that money but why would he ever do that with the Browns?

Just imagine the mess the Browns could be with DW's contract in the future.....

I just about posted this as an explanation why Baker would want to redo his contract to facilitate a trade, but you made all the points, I get that it is tough to give up nearly $19 mill, but not playing for a year, coming off the previous year's poor/injury riddled season will not endear him to franchises with new QBs coming out next year. And what if Corrall, Pitts new QB and Willis all show signs of being a good NFL QB. There could be nearly 6 less teams in the QB market for the 2023 season.

It will also be nice not to have to read the same poster who has ragged on baker for going on 5 years continue to rag on him. Mercifully with baker’s departure that should end.

I think you might want to add DaBears to this list. Folks situation might make BM attractive. Can't imagine Geno Smith being a good looking option, for example. Wish this would get done and over so that some of the talking heads/analysts/ sports mongers could get relief and stop ragging on us. Can't dodge the bullet? Let him sit. Or franchise tag him. We can move on any time. I welcome it.

Bard, the Bears drafted Justin Fields last year and they paid a pretty penny to move up in the draft to make sure they got him.

I think both sides handled this about the worst way possible, the only person that wins in this is Baker, he's getting paid either way.. Berry got too aggressive and careless when it was made known Watson was available. They should have traded baker before going after watson, if Baker wasn't your guy, going with another QB if you didn't get watson wasn't going to make or break this year. But doing what they did they lost all leverage. For bakers part, hes got some bad people in his circle, starts with his wife. But its this generation, nothing is real unless its on social media. He should have played the good soldier and shown he had matured, then he proceeded to look exactly like the petulant child he was all through college. Take Tua in miami when they were going after watson last year. He could have done what baker did, he just said I'm going to do the best I can to be the QB until they tell me I'm not. Showed maturity. Theres a reason Bakers mates haven't come out in his defense..Probably carried alot of that immaturity last year when things were going bad. Browns just need to eat the money and trade him somewhere in the NFC and move on. Berry will hopefully learn from that. But right now, him being on the team is going to be bad when camp starts

Who's to say it would have been any different? Do you know of a team that wanted him before the Watson deal? And if so, even after the deal, why didn't they pursue him? Trashed him in the media?

Ok, that's just not accurate.. It may be the way you see it because when it comes to Baker,, you just don't like the kid. But what the numbers bear out is that he's the best QB we've had since Bernie.. Baker often has taken full responsibility for his failings... No need to make stuff up..

Vers, I posted this after I read that they dropped Foles. BM might be competing for a backup position, a new Hoyer. Appreciate the reminder about last season and Justin Fields. I added Bears to another list. Pretty sure I said what I wanted. smh

To those saying baker needs to compromise or renegotiate or whatever I say fooey. He has the nuclear option. He can (and may well eventually) force his release by simply being a big enough public PITA. He does love a microphone and there’s no end of sports journo’s who’d interview him daily for another juicy quote.

Of course that might severely limit his pool of suitors on the other side of a release but I have zero doubt that even so, a released Baker would have a choice of 3-4 teams willing to pay league minimum and have the Browns pick up the rest. He’d be signed in under a week. Probably by the Stealers.

The fact remains that the Browns can’t really do with a regular river of bad press on top of the bad press they willingly embraced. And because of that he does indeed have leverage.

How could Berry trade Baker before going after watson? There were at least four teams in serious contention for watson's services. There was no way of knowing before hand who would end up with watson. Had Berry have traded Baker before the watson sweepstakes and come up empty, he would have looked like a fool. No watson, no baker and a weak QB draft class.

The decision broke down just the way it should have. When you are bidding against 3 other teams, you have a 25% chance of landing your target. You don't unload your current QB with those odds. You keep him to hedge your bet. You realize that if you win the watson sweepstakes you may end up eating some or most of his contract. That's the only realistic way to approach it. You fully understand that Baker's contract has a real possibility of becoming part of the price you are actually paying for watson and base your decision on that. You just look at the fact you may have to add Baker's 18.9 mil. to watsons's 230 mil. Which in total means the money you paid for watson ends up being 248.9 mil.

Either that or you take a huge gamble going into the 2022 season with no QB. Going about it that way would have been stupid on so many levels. No, Berry did the right thing even though he knew the position we might be facing. It was "Baked into" the watson deal.

That's where the reasoning of Baker gets a bit misleading
To say he is the best QB since Bernie isnt saying much at all. How many QBS
Did the Browns go through since Bernie...26?
Simply put surpassing every QB from Couch to Delhome
And Kizer is not a tall order at all

Yet there are fact which are undeniable. In the last 10 games when he was healthy he played well and did lead the Browns to the playoffs and a playoff win.

While I don't think that makes him some great QB it also means those trying to dismiss him as if he is a bum aren't being objective either.

Exactly. While there was a new playbook at the begining of that year, new mechanics, 3 really bad weather games... He finished strong. And while that doesn't mean he's elite, it probably means he's not a bum.

Bottom line regards him being the best QB for the Browns since the return..... That might not cement him as a great player... The bar might have been ridiculously low because of the trash we saw for 18 years... But as a Browns fan, devoid of hope and coming off 1-31... Baker is always going to have a place in my memory as being part of a turnaround that provided much joy in his rookie and 3rd seasons. And as much love as Dorsey gets from some, and as much as some have tried to paint the Kitchens year as being Baker's choice, Dorsey totally messed that call up.

As with every GM and HC Dorsey made his share of mistakes. They all do. That's really the part that cracks me up about blind loyalty. Everyone is human and as such makes mistakes. I think trying to portray Baker as either the hero or the devil is a total lack of objectivity. Often times orange colored glasses have a huge impact. I mean just look at the draft threads on the players we drafted. Don't get me wrong, I think Berry is very good at finding talent in the draft. But you see how fans overrate 4th, 5th, 6th and even 7th round picks like they will be team contributors. To believe that you have to be in denial of the very fact the percentages tell you that is totally false. Sure, you may beat those significant odds once in a while, but not on a consistent basis. Then by contrast you have those who trash everything Berry does and every draft pick.

It's just like with Baker. The truth of what the two extremes present lies somewhere squarely in the middle.

Sorry Bard, I misunderstood. I still think Baker is one of the best 32 QBs in the league and my mindset was thinking starter. That's from the "bum" that the alternative universe is selling as gospel.